Buried Evidence & Mother's Lullabys
by spiderlillie
Summary: When Jay makes a split second decision to try and save a child's life, he puts his own life in jeopardy. Now buried alive, Jay must wait for Intelligence to find him in time.
1. Chapter 1

One story, three parts.

* * *

 **Part One.**

 _Hail Mary..._

Jay Halstead takes a slow breath in and counts to ten before slowly blowing it out. Breath in, ten, and out. It's rhythmic and soothing. Just like repeating Hail Mary's the way his mother taught him to say when he was small. Soothing that's what he has to focus on. Calm. Which is the exact opposite of this situation... this situation. Because this situation is not good. But he can't dwell on that. Breath in, ten, and out. Recite the Hail Mary.

He knows exactly how he got here though.

Buried alive.

And he doesn't regret it, just wishes he wasn't, you know, buried alive.

\\\\\

Intelligence was full out running down the Magnificent Mile. Crowded with afternoon traffic, tourist, students, people everywhere. Not an ideal place to be chasing a drug smuggler and potential murder suspect. Not that chasing a drug smuggling, murder suspect had ever been good but today had been particularly bad. It had rained hard in the early morning hours and made the sidewalks puddle and slick.

The case had really gone south when the suspect had wrapped his arms around a boy with brown skin and amber colored eyes. He couldn't have been more than 8, dressed in prep school uniform, and a bright blue rain parka. There had been a whole lot of shouting, the kid, his 10ish year old sister, Voight, the suspect. The kid was too tiny to fight off the 6'5 assailant, being pulled towards the getaway van. And then Jay did the unthinkable, he's the closest and the beautiful little girl who will never grow up because of him runs through his mind. So many other's he's failed in the last couple of years.

So he'd lowered his weaponed, begged to switch places with the kid, took off his vest, and when that didn't work he volunteered to go too. He had locked eyes with Voight. Finally his sergeant had nodded his head, lowering his own weapon. The van is at the corner, waiting.

It was of course a shot in the dark. Once in the back of the utility van, he'd been made to lie on his belly. Nothing keeping him there expect the driver with a gun pointed at the small kid's head up front. There would have been no chance he could have gotten them both out safely if he tried to take out the two in the back with him.

His best guess had been an hour driving. Then there'd been a change from the paved road to the pop of gravel. And then the stop, Jay's stomach had lurched. The kid and the driver get out first and then the back opens and he was pulled out too. The sky is gray and pale, the fading colors almost dark. A vacant lot surrounded by trees, nothing to distinguish it. He hadn't recognized anything. But the faint roar of traffic he could hear had told him they weren't too far from the city.

"Listen to me," Jay had whispered. The trio had made Jay and the young boy stand by the van while they argued. Apparently snatching a kid and a cop had not been on the plan today.

A storage container had been in the deep ground. The man who had grabbed the kid had started pulling drugs and money out of it. Jay had a gut feeling about what they might plan on refiling it with. "Listen to me, okay?"

The little boy nodded, tears filled his eyes. His wiped at his nose but his eyes stayed on Jay.

"The road isn't far, it's right back that way. I'm going to get them to go after me and you run, okay? Run right back out there and flag down as many cars as possible. Okay, buddy? Count to three and go." Jay whispered and then started moving. He didn't really have a plan so much as just get the kid time as much time as possible.

"Hey!" Jay called drawing their attention. He didn't wait for them to react just rushed the closet guy, getting a few good blows in to the taller man's face. The kid had taken off in the opposite direction. There's a scuffle as two of them try to subdue Jay and the other runs after the boy.

Jay kept fighting till he feels his shoulder give out of place. Then came the sharp blow on the back of his head. It was so painful it felt almost paralyzing. Before his vision totally faded he saw the large guy, by some small miracle trip and fall. Hit the mud with a soft plump.

And the boy in the bright blue parka had disappeared into the dimming light.

 _...full of grace..._

\\\\\

Between his pounding head and how uncomfortably hot he's getting, Jay is pretty much over this. He wiggles around some, shifting his shoulders. He thinks he worked his shoulder back in place but it's definitely not feeling good. Either way he doesn't like being all cramped up. This thing he's buried in, it's bigger than a coffin but not big enough for him to sit up.

He's guessing he was out roughly forty-five minutes, long enough for them to drag him over to the container, seal it, and throw the roughly four feet of dirt back over it. And leave. Because it's quiet, too quiet. Like the night in Afghanistan him and Mouse were stranded after the Humvee incident. Quiet and dark like that night, his head was hurting then too come to think of it. Actually his whole body was hurting then... But that's not a good memory. Calm, happy, memories. Breathe in, count to ten, exhale. Breathe in, count to ten, exhale. Repeat a Hail Mary.

This is so boring. So very boring. Like being on desk duty. Desk duty was worse though because he felt like a kid in time out.

He taps his fingers on the steel beneath him. His back is starting to irritate him from laying so flat. He has enough room to push his knees up and kick some again. He did that when he first woke up, but it's solid, not budging, and he's got to conserve his air. They should be here by now, the kid should have made it to the highway. Somebody should have called for help, Intelligence probably just... got stuck in traffic. But they are on the way to get him. Any minute now. He drums his fingers and does the ten second breathing trick. He rolls his shoulders and neck.

Unless the kid...

Jay takes a deep breath and says another Hail Mary. The kid is fine, he's fine, it's all fine. Fine.

His mom taught him to say Hail Mary when he was about four, if he remembered right. His mom had been the exact opposite of his dad. His dad had been a hard man, it wasn't to say he had been a bad dad. He was just a hard man. His only softness showed when it came to his boys' mother. She's a happy memory. Her presence was always like sunshine, she was warm and loving. She'd come into his room at night when he was afraid of the dark and cry out for her. She'd been a devout Catholic her whole life. Raised in the Irish-Catholic ways and church. She would first say a Hail Mary and then he crawl into her lap while she hummed Irish lullabies till he fell asleep.

He misses his mom. A lot. He sniffs a little remembering her calming smile. She had been so calm, even when she got sick. She was so very calm. Calm and peaceful. She's at peace now for sure he knows. But he misses her none the less. Breathe in, count to ten, exhale.

A few hours have passed now. Maybe. He forgot his watch this morning, so he's not really sure. At one point this morning he thought that was going to be the worse part of his day. He lets out a chuckle, man was he way wrong.

It's still a toss up about being here or being on desk duty. He sighs blowing out a breath. Ten and out. Ten and out. It's better than desk duty because at least he can nap. Nap without being judged. Jay closes his eyes and wills himself to fall asleep. It'll pass the time till they get here and get him out. And breathing and heart rate slow when sleeping so that will work in his favor. He closes his eyes, there's no difference in the dark when they are open and when they're shut. He says another Hail Mary and falls asleep to his mother's lullaby.

... _the Lord is with thee..._

\\\\\

He wakes up to total darkness, but he hears voices this time. It's about time. Jay lets out a sigh of relief, everything is okay now. His eyes are just taking a minute to readjust. He blinks a few time till the figure beside him comes into focus.

Gregory Yates.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty."

"What the..." Jay kicks back pushing away but Yates catches his arm and holds it firm. His hands are dry and cold against Jay's hot skin. No matter how hard he tries to squirm away isn't making any progress. Nothing is working. Yates shoves his arms back against his own chest, the twinge in his shoulder makes him his in pain. "Let me go! No. No. Stop. Let me go!"

"Always feisty, like your partner." Yates chuckles, pressing his thumb up under Jay's chin and forcing his head up. His nails dig into Jay's throat. "Look at me when I speak, it isn't polite to look away. Didn't your mother teach you better?"

There's an eerie chuckle. Lonnie Rodiger is suddenly there too, hovering over him on the other side. Jay feels his heart race in his chest. Lonnie touches his cheek, fingers clammy and over eager. He keeps petting Jay's cheek. Jay tries to twist away but he doesn't have anywhere to go. Trapped and things keep going from bad to worst. "Doesn't know any better. His mommy is dead."

"So are the both of you." Jay bites back. He spits and with his free hand claws at the two above him.

They both laugh. Hovering above him their eyes sink into their skulls and start rotting away.

"So what does that make you?" Yates asks him in the silence.

\\\\\

His eyes snap open in the blackness and his chest feels tight. He's all alone. Still buried but alone. It was just a dream, just a dream. He tries to get back to his ten second breathing rhythm but he gags. He bites the inside of his lip and swallow thickly. His mouth is dry and now all he can think about is the soft dirt he's buried under. The air is stale and too warm closed up in here, he wants to be out so bad. To feel the coolness of the rainy grass on top.

How many hours have passed now? Too many.

Something is wrong, it's been too long already. He can't help but start to wander how much longer? Before he runs out of air? Dizzy and exhausted but still time to be saved? After? When his lips are blue, face pale, and body stiff? Or years later? Once his body has decayed down to nothing but bones and teeth and fingernails? He doesn't want to die like this. Not like this.

And if nobody is coming... that means the little boy didn't make it. He didn't even ask his name. He failed him. Jay Halstead has failed yet another kid.

 _Hail Mary... full of grace..._

He stifles a cry and realizes his breathing has quickened, way too fast and uneven. Most likely they caught the kid before he made it to the highway. No one is coming and calming down seems useless at this point. He wants out, wants to sleep, wants his mom, wants the boy's mom to know how sorry he is. His head is pounding and he starts kicking and screaming. Something is wrong, really wrong. He can't catch his breath and his head is killing him. Finally Jay gives in to the panic attack that's been waiting to take him.

 _...pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death._

* * *

 **TBC.**

It's a bit messy but I imagine anyone in a situation like this wouldn't exactly be the clearest thinker. Trying something a little different in my writing but keeping the Jay whump themes. Hopefully part two will be up later this week.

Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2.**

"His names is Isaiah Travis Williams. Just turned 7. Walking with his sister to meet their mom. No connections to the suspects, definitely just a random grab." Adam Ruzek announces, holding out his phone with the kid's picture on the screen. It's a standard school one, big toothy grin against a faux marbled backdrop.

It's been approximately 28 minutes since Jay and the boy were taken. Intelligence was scrambling to get back on track with their chase. The van had been lost in traffic, knew which roads to avoid traffic cams, and even with an APB out they still were still without a lead.

"Get his picture out and what he was wearing. That blue jacket. We need to get eyes on him as soon as possible." Voight gruffs, taking his on phone out. "Sooner we locate him, sooner we locate Halstead. Keep searching for the van. We know they frequent Old Town and the Gold Coast. So best chance is to head that way."

He dismisses them with a nod. As they separate to follow various ends, Voight lets out a sigh he's been holding in.

Damn. Leave it to Halstead to volunteerly get taken in one of the busiest places in the world and disappear without a trace in less than 30 minutes.

While he's lamenting the split second decision not to tell Jay to stand down, Antonio jogs up. "Think I got something."

"Let's hear it."

"Both Vaughn and Lee have familes in Bucktown, if you were accostemd to daddy's money getting you out of trouble wouldn't you go home?"

Voight nods taking it in. "Go get Burgess and knock on their doors. Even if they haven't seen them, I bet they'll know where to look."

\\\\\

Isaiah has never been more scared in his entire life. This is even worse than that one time he snuck downstairs and watched the scary movie his parents were watching. He was supposed to have been asleep and after watching a few minutes of it from behind the couch, he definitely thought that would be the scariest moment of his entire life.

But one minute he's out walking with Jade, listening to her whine about not having a cellphone and how she wished their mom let her pick how her hair was done. The next, some weird, giant guy was grabbing him and pointing a gun at him.

Things went from bad to scary movie bad then with all the yelling between the old cop and the weird guy and his sister screaming and crying. He could feel himself being pulled towards the van and no matter how hard he struggled and pushed away he couldn't budge the big guy's arms.

Out of nowhere the young cop had appeared, almost right beside them. He gently grabbed Jade and ushered her behind him, sending her to the lady cop with the long blonde hair. He had tried his best to get them to let Isaiah go but the guy refused and so the cop had went with them. He watched him lie in the back on his belly, hands pressed to the floor in front of him. He had occasionally looked up at Isaiah and smiled, trying to make it not so scary.

Now, it's even worse. He's in the middle of nowhere, alone with one cop and some weirdos in the woods. This is how people die. Isaiah wants his mom so bad he wants to start crying.

"Listen to me, okay?" The man is talking quietly to him. But the words coming out of his mouth were even scarier. Run, go by himself, run to the road, find cars, find help. But go by himself. "Okay, buddy? Count to three and go."

"Hey!" The cop yells and lurches forward, he pops the first guy he comes to in the mouth and Isaiah takes off. Another one grabs him and slings him to the ground but the guy keeps struggling. The big guy that grabbed him breaks away and runs behind him. It crosses his mind that he doesn't remember if he told his mama he loved her this morning when she dropped him off at school. He can't think about that now as he runs though. This is worse than running laps at the soccer field. This is so much worse. He glances over his shoulder and by some miracle the man chasing him trips and falls. Hitting the mud with a soft plump.

He makes it all the way out to the roadway but before he can celebrate something worse is happening. By some unfortunate circumstance, there isn't a car in sight. Isaiah takes several deep gulps of air trying to catch his breath. This is horrible. He feels like crying. He can hear two of them running through the woods towards him. He sighs trying to stay by the pavement, there's headlights now but it's too far away and on the opposite side of the interstate. The two weirdos will have caught him before it gets here. With one sad sigh, he takes off running back into the woods and finds a hiding spot.

\\\\\

"I'm so ready to be get into bed." Sylvia Brett complains as she leans forward in the driver's seat of Ambo 61. Her and Dawson had driven a little piece out of the city as a favor to Chief Boden's wife to show the ambulance at a campout the school was having and do a first aid talk. It had been a fun evening but tiring, they had stayed a little longer for s'mores and campfire stories. It had gotten late before they realized it, while Brett had chatted up one of the camp leaders.

Gabby Dawson-Casey laughs. "Well you had an offer back there."

Brett rolls her eyes and glances over at Gabby. "Right. Nothing like Camp Counselor Dan to keep me..."

"Wait, wait, wait. Brett, did you see that?" Gabby interrupts, motioning towards the other side of the road.

"Uh." Brett slows the ambulance and squints across the highway. "Nope."

"There was a kid, I swear." Gabby insists, she unbuckles her seat belt and leans forward as the ambulance comes to a stop. "Right over there. Across on that side by the trees."

"A kid, on side of the road, at one am. Okay." Brett says nodding her head. She takes her foot back off the break and starts to go again. "It's late, I think you need sleep. We both need sleep."

Dawson sighs and turns to her partner with pleading eyes. "Can we just go over there and check? It won't take but a minute."

Brett rolls her eyes before finally flipping on the lights. "Only for you."

She steers carefully across the median and towards the area Gabby directs her too. They both get out and at first they are only greeted by the quite chirping of crickets. The flashing lights are the only thing providing any light around them.

"I know I saw him. Small kid. Blue jacket." Gabby insist walking hesitantly towards the edge of the woods.

It's only a second later he appears. It takes everything in Brett not to scream. His khaki pants have mud stains on the knees and shins, bright blue rain jacket. He's crying hard. "Please, I need help. They took me and I hid but the guy is in trouble. The guy they took he's in the ground. I just want my mom. Please."

"Call it in." Gabby tells her as she rushes towards the kid. "Come here, sweetie. It's okay. You're safe now. What's your name?"

"Isaiah." He tells her sniffing hard. She squats a little to get a good look at him, no visible signs of injuries is always a good thing.

"How long have you been out here?" She asks. Brett has already made it back to the ambulance and is on the radio calling for backup.

He shrugs. "A few hours, maybe. You gotta help the guy in the ground. I think he's hurt. He's in the ground, you gotta help him. But as soon as he is okay, can you take me home to my mom?"

"Of course." Gabby tells him. She glances up at Brett's face and sees her partners eyes change. "Now tell me about the guy in the ground?"

Brett comes back out of the ambulance. Her face serious as she glances around them several times. "Let's get him in the ambulance."

"What's going on?" Gabby asks as she guides the kid around back and opens the doors. They help the kid in then climb inside themselves. Brett quickly locks the door and hurries back to the driver seat. Brett nods her head to the passenger seat, so Gabby has Isaiah sit on the stretcher, gives him a warm smile, and then ducks her way back up front. Brett has locked all the doors and keeps eyeing the roadway suspiciously.

Brett leans into to whisper, her blond braid falling over her shoulder. "This kid got kidnapped today, broad daylight. They've been looking all over for him. PD is on their way, they just picked up all but one of the guys that did it. They told him they lost the kid."

"Okay. Well great, we found him. They like left him here or something." Gabby says with a shrug. "Happy ending?"

Brett shakes her head. "They grabbed the kid in the city, PD was chasing a suspect and he grabbed the kid. But Jay Halstead went with them, tried to go as their hostage but they wouldn't swap. He went too. Jay is supposed to be with him."

Gabby takes it all in for a few minutes. The silence echoes around them like the flashing lights bounce in the darkness. "The guy in the ground?"

"I think so. The two they caught said that he was 'alive for now'. What if they..." Brett trails off looking towards the wooded area again. What if they put Jay Halstead alive in the ground?

"Hey Isaiah," Gabby turns around. "The guy they put in the ground, was he a police officer?"

The little boy nods. "He wasn't dressed like one but I think so."

"How long ago?" She continues. There is a terrible feeling working it's way into the pit of her stomach. They put Jay Halstead in the ground. Probably alive. Maybe hours ago. She's torn between not pressing the kid but also finding Jay as quickly as possible.

"I'm not sure. But it was along time ago, the sun was still kinda up." He starts crying all of a sudden. "I'm so sorry, he told me to go get help. But they chased me, so I hid and I got lost. He's still out there, I saw them drop him in the box in the ground before they left."

"It's okay. We're going to help okay? You did good. You've been very brave." Gabby tells him. She can't find any tissues right off hand so she goes back to him and hands him a few gauze pads to wipe his face with. "Can you show us where he is now?"

Brett whips her head back around and shoots Gabby a look. But even deep down she knows. Backup is probably still a good twenty minutes away. If Jay Halstead was put alive in the ground maybe six hours ago, time was running out. The boy directs them to where the dirt road to an abandoned construction site is. There's a dip in the dirt ahead, three feet below the surface there's a glimmer of metal. There's no dirt on top, just a large container of sorts.

"I'm going to go check it out." Gabby says. "Stay here with him."

"Wait, take this with you." Brett says passing her a crowbar she has hidden under the drivers seat. "I'll explain why it's here some other time."

Gabby nods, climbs out, and makes her over to the hole. The bright lights on the ambulance help illuminate the area but not much. Thankfully, the only thing keeping the thick metal lid is two four latches that can be popped open from the outside. She kneels down, setting the crowbar beside her, and leans carefully over to open each one. Taking a deep breath, Gabby steals her self for whatever's inside. As silent as it is, she doesn't want him to be in there. It's almost heavier than she was expecting but she leverages herself and moves it, flipping it down into the other side of the hole in the ground.

Jay Halstead is in there. Flat on his back. Not moving and seemingly not breathing. She bites her lip and shuts her eyes for a second. Blinking back tears, she reaches down and unfortunately from this angle she can't reach his carotid artery in his throat. There's just enough room for her to step down in the box beside him. As careful as she can, Gabby gets down and then leans over him. She presses her fingers gently down...

...in that same second, Jay's whole body reacts. He gasp for breath and comes too, grabbing Gabby's arm and yanking her down. She hears Brett screaming through the open window of the ambulance and the familiar wail of sirens in the distance but all she can focus on his Jay. His blue eyes are aren't focusing on anything, they just keep rolling back and forth while he gasps for air.

"I.. I.. I... want my.. my mom..." Jay gasps between breaths before his eyes roll back in his head and his whole body goes limp releasing Gabby.

* * *

TBC.

Part 3 - the ending - hopefully will be up in the next couple of days.

Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

I apologize for the delay in the final chapter. I wanted it to be the very best it could be.

Notes - I take a lot of liberties in this final part, not much is known about the Halstead mom so I came up with my own version. And I'm not sure how it became so themed about mom, maybe some sort of subconscious nod to (American) Mother's Day being this weekend.  
Also I've done my best research on what the medical conditions would be after being buried alive (goodness knows if someone is to ever see my searches) and I think I've done my best to make it medically accurate and fit it in the story.  
Now the final part...

 **Part 3.**

* * *

Jay is four years and five days old the second night his parents try to get him to sleep in his own room.

Will being a few years older had already had a room of his own. Curiously though, he sat in the hallway and watched his parents try for the third night in a row explain to Jay about this having his own room situation. They had both sat in there and took turns reading till he fell asleep. So far third time had been the charm. Jay hadn't faked his parents out tonight and immediately ran for the toddler crib they had yet to take down in their room.

"He acts like such a baby." Will had remarked his parents as they came out of Jay's room.

"Hush and go to bed." His dad was quick to say.

Their mama had just shook her head and gave him a small smile. "We're all afraid of something, William. Now run along and go to bed."

Around one am though the quiet night had came to an abrupt end. Jay had woken up and by chance the bulb to the new nightlight had blown. Alone in the quiet dark he let out a scream Will would recall for years and then called for his mom. Both of his parents had jumped up, Will nearly colliding with his dad as they all ran into the hallway. Their mom though had made it to Jay's room first.

His whole little body had been shaking in sobs. "I not breathing in the dark."

"Oh sweetie, yes you can." His mom said gathering him in her arms as she sat down on the bed with him. She rocked him back and forth as the tears faded some. "I'm so, so sorry the light went out but I promise you, you can breath in here in the dark."

"No, I am not. The dark was choking me." He insisted laying his headful of soft blonde hair against her shoulder.

She smiles a little, kissing his temple. "I think that you can. I think maybe you were just scared. The dark is kinda scary, it scares me sometimes too."

"Really?" He asks. He pulls his head back and peaks at her.

She nods her head and kisses his temple again. "Now why don't I teach how to say a Hail Mary like my mother taught me to say when I was afraid?"

"I want a song too." He tells her. "And stay."

"Of course, Hail Mary and a song and I'll stay as long as I can. But you'll sleep all through the night and then it'll be morning and everything will be okay."

He had finally crawled back into bed and his mother had held his hand.

\\\\\

It's extremely bright when Jay opens his eyes. Too bright. He grunts and squinches them back closed immediately. He moves around freely till he feels a soft but firm hand grip his arm keeping him in place. Whoever it is talks steadily but the words don't make sense at first.

"It's okay, Jay, it's okay. We're right here." Will's voice finally comes clear and it's right beside him. He can feel his brother fussing around him. "Can you close the curtains a little more? I think the light is..."

"Yeah, yeah. Tried to tell you that earlier." Their dad's voice cuts in, there's sounds of him moving about the room. "Natural sunlight ain't what the kid wants right now."

"Jay?" Will ignores their dad. "Want to try and open your eyes again? Just talk for a second? You can go back to sleep soon, I promise."

He sighs, it doesn't sound like a good idea but he obeys anyways. The room is still brighter than where he had been before but it's not nearly as bright this time as it was the first time he opened his eyes. He blinks several time, trying to get everything into focus. The light makes him a little nauseous at first but it passes as he lays there and inhales pure air from an oxygen mask.

Will has sat on the left side edge of the bed, close enough to help Jay but with distance to not crowd him. He's reached across and carefully rubbing circles into his right arm. His dad is easing himself back down into a chair that's purposefully placed between the foot of Jay's bed and the door. Staring blankly at him. It feels weird in Jay's mind. Everything feels... weird. It's the only word he can think of right now to describe it. His mind, his body, the way they are looking at him, how sleepy he is even though he just woke up.

"Do you know where you are right now?" Will asks using his 'doctor voice' as Jay thinks of it. Calm and professional but the worry shines in his eyes.

"Yeah." He answers. His words come out foggy through the oxygen mask but he doesn't bother trying to take it off though. It's a little uncomfortable on his face but at the same time soothing to breathe in.

Will gives him a small smile and nods his head. "Good. Do you remember anything that happened?"

"You're really going to ask him that? Right now? Give him a break." Their dad interjects, leaning forward in his seat frowning at Will. Will rolls his eyes and glares back at him but it makes Jay smile a little.

"I'm checking his cognitive awareness." Will hisses back at him. His dad shrugs his shoulder and leans back in the chair. Will mouths something to him but Jay can't make it out from the way Will's head is turned.

"Continue." Pat finally says.

"Well in case you haven't noticed your dad is with us." Will emphasis the word 'your', losing the calm tone momentarily. They must have spent way too much time together already. "Apparently he's become a doctor in the last few hours."

"I think I know what happened, I kinda remember most of it." Jay pauses. Yelling in the street, the boy, a getaway van, getting hit, the blue jacket disappearing, waking up buried, thinking about his mom, being alone, Gabby maybe, dark brown eyes. The kid. He pulls in a breath and blows it out. Jay struggles to sit up, pushing his elbows into the bed and even though his shoulder rolls a little and he has no idea where he would go. "The kid... Did he... Is he..."

"He's fine." Will stops him, patting his right hand. He stays close to Jay until he seems satisfied he isn't going to try and get up. Once Jay lays his head back Will leans back giving him space. "He had to hide for a little bit before he could get away and get help. But he's fine."

Jay sighs, taking a few deep breaths in the oxygen mask, savoring it. He doesn't have to worry, it isn't a dream. It's all real. He's okay. The boy is okay. He kind of feels like crying in relief. "What's his name? I never had a chance to ask him."

"Isaiah Williams." Will answers.

Jay repeats in his head. Finally putting a name to the boy's face. He can feel his whole body start to relax again. He falls into a rhythmic silence of his breathing and his dad tapping his foot against the chair leg.

"Are you hurting anywhere?" Will asks pulling the attention back to him. He's still in doctor mode.

Jay shakes his head, come to think of it again he doesn't feel anything. Weird. Calm. "What did they give me?"

"Valium." Will answers honestly. "We wanted you to stay settled for a little while."

"Definitely doing it's job." Jay tells him. He's so sleepy he can't think straight. His eyes feel heavy and he can already tell he's falling back asleep.

Pat clears this throat, drawing his sons attention to him. "So you're good?"

"Yep." Jay answers without hesitation, blinking to keep himself awake. "Just fine. You're free to go."

"Great." Pat tells him, standing up.

"Wait," Will stops him. "You don't want to stick around awhile?"

Jay sighs, poor stressed Will. He moves the oxygen mask up from his face for a second so he can talk better. He can read Will and his dad like books. His dad has fufilled his part in this drama. "I'm definitely fine. Besides Will, I'm going back to sleep. I don't need him watching me sleep."

"Exactly, he isn't dead or dying. He's in his right mind. And if I leave now, I'll only be about an hour and a half late for work." Pat tells him. Hospitals aren't places to hangout at, and he's clearly been itching to leave since he got here. But that's normal for him. "There's nothing I can do here."

Will looks slightly flustered for a second but its Jay's turn to be comforting. He puts the oxygen mask back on and settles his hand on top of Will's. Will turns and looks at him oddly. Like he wants to say something but Jay just gives him a smile. Normal. Fine. Calm. Everything here is good.

"I guess we'll see you later?" Will asks standing up as his dad collects his jacket.

Pat shrugs. "Sure."

Just as he turns to leave, he hesitates and comes back closer to Jay's bedside.

"Glad you didn't die, buddy." He finally says, giving him a gentle squeeze on the shoulder before nodding goodbye to Will and leaving the two brothers alone.

"Good ol' dad." Jay says rolling his eyes as Will sighs pulling the chair close to the side of the bed.

Will stares at Jay for a second before finally shaking his head. "Yep."

Jay figures that's the end of it. He settles back down to go to sleep, letting the Valium do it's job. The kid is okay, he's okay. Happy ending. He closes his eyes and breathes deeply through the mask for a moment. Calm.

Until he peeks open his eyes and realizes Will is just sitting staring at the monitor beside him. It doesn't really mean a whole lot to Jay. He knows some of the numbers are his blood pressure and the rhythmatic lines are from the beats of his heart. But clearly it means a lot of to Will.

"Soo..." Jay begins rolling a little onto his hip to face his older brother. He moves the mask a little again to talk. "What's the diagnosis?"

"Hypoxia." Will answers."Put the mask back on and go to sleep."

"Fancy doctor word for suffocation?" Jay asks ignoring his brother's request.

Will gives him a little shrug and waves his hand up at the monitor. "Something like that. You're body wasn't getting enough oxygen so it's mad at you. I'm just going to stay here and keep an eye on things... unless you want to talk about anything."

"Nope." Jay says with a forced smile and a shrug. "Do you?"

Will simply shakes his head and leans back in his chair. Jay watches his brother for a minute before readjusting the mask back to his face then letting the drowsiness take back over. He's back asleep within three minutes.

\\\\\

When he wakes back up, the only person there is a floor nurse he doesn't recognize. She's kind and bubbly, short blonde hair. She chats while she changes the mask to a nasal cannula. Explains that his levels are improving but they want to keep him on oxygen for a little bit longer because it dipped back down while he was asleep. She talks some more, checks some things, asks if he wants anything. He's fine of course.

"Can I ask you something before you go?" He stops her.

"Of course." She pauses coming back to his beside.

"I think there was a little boy that was brought in when I was."

"I'm not really able to discuss information like that." She tells him, her pretty glosses lips tilted down in a grimace. She nods her head though. And he takes it as her confirming the kid was brought in here. "But I'm sure he's okay and home with his mom and family now."

Jay thanks her as she leaves and pulls the pushes the button for the tv to come on. It's a home shopping channel, they're selling face wash and the man is super cheerful. He doesn't bother to turn the volume up, just leaves it on silent. He can't remember the last time he felt this much peace. It's probably mostly the sedative he's been given but a part of it comes from relief knowing the kid is fine. Or as fine as I kid who got taken in the middle of the day walking around town will ever be. There's a sting of tears as Jay thinks about the boy being safely tucked into bed by his mom.

Sometimes he wonders if his mom was still living how she would react to the job he did now? The situations he found himself in. Ending up in Med every once and awhile. He blows out a breath. In, ten, and out. In, ten, out. She would be absolutely devastated at some of the things that had happened but she would have stuck right by him. Would have been there fussing over him the afternoon he took a bullet and asked to get placed in Intelligence. She would have been so proud of how well him and Will were getting along these days. She would have cried with him the night Erin Lindsay left without a goodbye. He sniffs a little before saying a Hail Mary and falling back to sleep.

\\\\\

Antonio is watching tv on mute when he wakes up the next time. It's dark outside. There is pudding, jello, and juice cup sitting on the table. For a minute, Jay considers going back to sleep, Antonio hasn't even realized he's woken up yet. His phones buzzes, he checks it, types a quick response, and goes back to watching a football game rerun. Perfectly normal. All Jay really wants is to leave the spell of perfectly normal in place. Everything is fine.

"Hey." Jay says sitting up. There's still the dull fog from the last dose of Valium but it's fading. He yawns and rolls his shoulders trying to wake up.

Antonio turns and smiles broadly at him. "Hey there. How ya feeling?"

"Drugged." Jay tells him slowly. "Very, very drugged."

"Probably not a bad thing." Antonio tells him. "You've been sleeping good. Will's been in and out and you haven't budged."

Jay yawns again and tilts his head, absorbing the words. The room is "Great, cause he was acting weird earlier."

"He's probably just a little worried." His friend tells him, leaning back in his chair to look him over.

"I don't know why everyone is acting weird about this. Even my dad was here earlier." Jay tells him with a sigh. "Everybody asks like this was something serious, it's no worse than anything else that has ever happened to me."

"That's a very nonchalant way to look at it." Antonio says after a moment.

Jay shrugs. "So what about the guys that did this?"

"Two were idiots and went home after Isaiah ran and they locked you in the box. Being the kind idiots that they were, they also gave up the location of the third guy after you were found. Pretty open and shut on that end."

"Not many cases come that easy." Jay thinks about it for a minutes. About why Antonio is causally hanging out here.

He has a vague flash of something that he isn't sure if it's a dream or a hallucination or an actual memory of Gabby standing over him. He had cried for his mom in a panicked gasp. She kept begging him to breathe, just take a breath, keep trying, he was doing good. Laying on the cold ground with Sylvie slipping a mask over his face, her blonde braid highlighted with the flashing lights. Gabby had started yelling in her radio as they loaded Jay up. No they were not going to wait till a patrol unit could get to their location, no Med was not the closet hospital but they were taking Jay Halstead to Med right now. He was stable enough. He was going to be fine. The boy had been there in the ambulance too, they had sat him in the passenger seat, given him a cellphone to call his mom. But he had heard Jay ask for his own mom and kept asking the paramedics shouldn't somebody call his mom. Gabby had glanced down from the IV she was starting as they flew down the highway and looked into Jay's eyes. " _His mom knows he's okay."_ The boy had accepted the answer and called his, just as Jay passed out again.

"Why are you here?" He finally asks.

"What do you remember?" Antonio asks back.

Jay feels tears well in his eyes. This is the hard part. There's a side of him that wants to pretend nothing happened and he's fine. He could just let it go, say he doesn't remember. They could drop it there. But he thinks about being brave too. "I think I remember everything."

"Gabby told me and Will. I think you scared her. And that ain't easy, kid." He says with a little smirk. "But Will's pretty worried too. He called your dad. They care about you, we care about you. All of us do. There isn't a 'well this is normal' kinda thing. You got to get that through your thick, nearly damaged skull."

"What am I supposed to do? Okay, like I know I'm fine or I'm going to be fine. And that this that happened was really, freakin' messed up. But I don't want it to get the best of me. So I have got to be okay, for myself. For Will too. I mean, if I break, I think he might too. So where do we go from here?" Jay lets out a breath he'd been holding.

Antonio bites his lip and thinks over his next words carefully just as they are interrupted by a quick tap at the door. A tall thin woman peaks her head in. She has brilliant amber eyes and brown complexion. Jay know who she is instantly.

"Hi, um, I am so sorry to come unannounced." She nearly middle-aged and well dressed but her clothes are wrinkled and her eyes show the tiredness and strain. "I hope I'm not interrupting."

Dawson gives a quick glance to Jay and make sure sure he's okay with this before standing up. "Come right in, Sherri. We'd be happy for you to.

"Thank you, Detective Dawson. I promise I'll be in and out. But I, I just had to come by." She says looking directly at Jay. Her words tumble out in a ramble. "I actually left my purse here earlier and came back for it. Well my sister brought me back for it. We left the kids with their dad. it was just chaos earlier. All I could think about was getting Isaiah and Jade home and safe and together. And I just left it without thinking. They told me it could wait till in the morning but I don't know, I just wanted to come back up here. I was kinda hoping I could meet you. I'm sorry, I'm all over the place right now. I should have introduced myself, I'm Sherri..."

"Isaiah's mom." Jay finishes for her. "He has your eyes."

"And you're Detective Halstead, the one who made sure I got my little boy home safe and sound." She chokes up a little and Dawson passes her a box of tissues from the table. "I'm sorry, I swore to my sister and husband I wouldn't bother y'all and even if I did sneak in here I wouldn't cry. I just had to tell you thank you though. Thank you, you'll never know what this means to us. Like thank you, just doesn't seem like enough. The kids want to make you thank you and get well cards and I don't know, we'll never be able to say it enough."

"Knowing he's okay, is everything." Jay says feeling tears come to his own eyes. "As long as he's okay and safe with you and his family, that's all I need."

"Can I give you a hug? And I promise I will leave you two gentlemen alone for the night." Sherri says. Jay nods and she envelops him carefully in a soft hug. It's quick but it leaves Jay feeling a contact high of sorts. It's definitely going to be okay. "Okay, well thank you again."

"I'll walk you out." Antonio offers.

She shakes her head. "Thank you, we're good though. My sister is just at the nurses station with her husband. Thank you again, oh, and I met your brother he's amazing. I know how absolutely proud your mom and dad must be of you two."

"Yep. I know they both are." Jay answers her. She waves a quick goodbye and closes the door behind her leaving them in silence. Jay process everything in his mind, it's all going to be okay. He knows it, known it since he woke up, but sometimes even if your mind says it, you needed to be reminded of that a little bit deeper.

"So I think I know where we go from here." Antonio says finally. "We get you better, we work through this, whatever you got to deal with from this together. You got that?"

Jay nods. "Yep, I got it."

"Good." Antonio tells him and then points at the TV. "Now this is a classic game and it's important to football history. So pay attention till you go back to sleep."

 **End.**

* * *

Thanks so much for reading and responding to the first two chapters. This final one getting it all together was a doozy but I hope you all enjoyed it's conclusion!

Thank you all for reading!


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